What do children’s centres do? A collection of case studies from the West Bradford Cluster. Bradford has 41 children’s centres operating across the District. We know that they are valued by parents and carers who use them. Here are some of the reasons why. The importance of home visits (Early Years Practitioner HT) Starting point The family had had no recent contact with the children’s centre. Intervention I first visited the family on an outreach home visit at 18 months when I talked to mum about the Early Language Development Programme and the special Early Language Stay and Play session at Crossley Hall each month. We also talked about the 2 year old offer, which nurseries in the area provided the offer and how to go about registering at a setting. Mum and MM started coming to the Early Language Development Programme sessions at Crossley Hall. Mum requested Bookstart and Play in the Home to improve MM’s speech and language skills as she was concerned that MM only spoke a few words. Impact MM’s speech and language is improving following delivery of Play in the Home and Bookstart programmes. Mum went to look round Daisy Chain Nursery with a view to MM taking up a 2YO place there, and has put her name down on the waiting list. Parent reflection Going to the children centre has helped boost my confidence and mix with new people. It’s helped MM to be more active and has helped her behaviour get better.
The value of universal services (Community Engagement Worker NN) Starting point Mum lives with her partner and her in-laws, and is not accessing the children’s centre. She doesn’t have much confidence and is wanting to improve her English. Intervention The family was initially on our 4 month outreach list - we visited to do a home safety check, and introduce children’s centres to the family. I provided lots of information about activities - Stay & Play, baby massage, adult learning courses and HENRY/Nurturing courses. Mum showed an interest in Stay & Play and an adult learning course, and agreed to come to a Stay & Play session. I registered mum for the ESOL class with crèche, a Nurturing course, and HENRY. Impact Mum now turns up regularly for Baby Stay & Play, socialising with other mums, and very happy to come back again. Mum started her ESOL classes, which along with Nurturing and HENRY helped to build her confidence. Parent reflection I am very happy and felt very confident now to communicate with staff and other parents, I felt I am completely different person. Courses were very helpful for me.
Children’s centres have led the development of integrated support around the needs of the whole family. This is in contrast to many services at the sharp end that have struggled to join up or deal with crisis in a coordinated way. Children’s Commissioner: Family Hubs - a discussion paper October 2016